[Q] Note pro 12.2 screen flickers

[cavalier90]

Saw the dreaded flicker today. ..battery was at 33%. Plugged it in to charge. I'll post any updates after charging.

 

[brorex]

Hey guys my flickering has gotten worse and worse. My tablet is still under warranty through best buy I believe I'm just trying to figure out if I should get it replaced with warranty or just do the soldering myself. Does best buy give out refurbished units when doing warranty exchanges? For some reason I never have very good luck with refurbed devices? What do you guys think I assume I lose my warrant if I tear into it and solder. I'd like to root it but have not for warranty purposes. Also I hate to send it to Samsung and have it gone for a month just to get it back with the same problem.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[Beut]

Hey guys my flickering has gotten worse and worse. My tablet is still under warranty through best buy I believe I'm just trying to figure out if I should get it replaced with warranty or just do the soldering myself. Does best buy give out refurbished units when doing warranty exchanges? For some reason I never have very good luck with refurbed devices? What do you guys think I assume I lose my warrant if I tear into it and solder. I'd like to root it but have not for warranty purposes. Also I hate to send it to Samsung and have it gone for a month just to get it back with the same problem.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

If you're still under warranty, you should send it back for repair. Be aware that Geek Squad at Best Buy is useless to fix your tablet, they will send it to a Samsung repair center for repair and pay the repair cost on your behalf, a fact most people don't know about it when bring laptops or tablets to Best Buy. If warranty covered by them, you don't have to pay, if it's not in warranty, you pay for the repair cost plus the bogus fee of middle man, they will act as if they actually repair your problem, the same as guys at Fry's Electronics. Anything other than computer, these guys won't be able to fix, simply because they don't have specialized skills and parts.
Private repair shops are the ones actually work on Samsung tablet but their source of parts is from Ebay or AliExpress.
Samsung repair centers actually are contractors provide services for Samsung tablets, they should know how to fix this problem now depending where you send your tablet ; if you want, be specific that battery connector should be fixed to solve this issue when creating a ticket of RMA.
Don't take an exchange because this problem exists in all Note Pro tablets regardless old or new, sooner or later, the battery connector will crack due to the mainboard sitting on a flexible LCD and frame ( this mainboard has only 3 screws to hold it, that's the reason. ) I see many users have this problem, even their tablets are only few months old. Refurbished are the worst as they are used one, did some checks and tests and ready for re sell.

 

[brorex]

If you're still under warranty, you should send it back for repair. Be aware that Geek Squad at Best Buy is useless to fix your tablet, they will send it to a Samsung repair center for repair and pay the repair cost on your behalf, a fact most people don't know about it when bring laptops or tablets to Best Buy. If warranty covered by them, you don't have to pay, if it's not in warranty, you pay for the repair cost plus the bogus fee of middle man, they will act as if they actually repair your problem, the same as guys at Fry's Electronics. Anything other than computer, these guys won't be able to fix, simply because they don't have specialized skills and parts.
Private repair shops are the ones actually work on Samsung tablet but their source of parts is from Ebay or AliExpress.
Samsung repair centers actually are contractors provide services for Samsung tablets, they should know how to fix this problem now depending where you send your tablet ; if you want, be specific that battery connector should be fixed to solve this issue when creating a ticket of RMA.
Don't take an exchange because this problem exists in all Note Pro tablets regardless old or new, sooner or later, the battery connector will crack due to the mainboard sitting on a flexible LCD and frame ( this mainboard has only 3 screws to hold it, that's the reason. ) I see many users have this problem, even their tablets are only few months old. Refurbished are the worst as they are used one, did some checks and tests and ready for re sell.

Do you know of anyone who has had the issue come back after getting it repaired?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[Beut]

Do you know of anyone who has had the issue come back after getting it repaired?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

Depending when they sent for repair, by now most will not return as they do repair correctly for this particular problem which exactly comes from battery connectors, the one soldered to mainboard and the one connected with cable.
Before, I saw many users return from the same problem after changing mainboard or LCD or battery.
Each service center is a different company who provides services for Samsung or others. For example , the one is in Texas is not the one in California or in New Jersey...etc,...
Depending where you send your tablet for service, the quality of repair may be different, simply Samsung has no direct relationship or control over those work directly on your tablets.
Service center is a contractor, and their techs sometimes are sub-contractors, temp hired for repair Samsung tablets.
I see the one comes back for repair as the one that battery connector was not fixed. Many users here fix this problem by themselves, but a majority never post back , they just do the HIT and RUN.
This user is an example, after 2 repairs, the last one they fixed correctly:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=59573206&postcount=100
After 2 visits to Samsung , my unit finally works fine.
Motherboard and LCD were changed first time. But issue persisted.
Second time, battery connector was replaced. Since then it has worked very very smoothly.
No crash. Hope this will help others. Bought a Logitech keyboard case, works wonderfully.

This user spent $30 and fixed it by himself:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...screen-flickering-problems-3.html#post4473418
Some people have said an electronics guy will do this for you for around $30. Well, I spent the $30 and did it myself. I want to thank the people for posting the solutions here as the soldering worked for me.

 

[bluebirch]

I just got my SM-P900 back from Samsung for the third time. This time, they resoldered the battery connector because I told them to. Obviously, during the first two repairs they weren't aware this is a standard issue with this unit. Hopefully, this last repair did the trick.

Skickat från min SM-P900 via Tapatalk

 

[wchildress2001]

I've had my verizon version since they were first released. I've always had the flickering and power recycling since about a month after I received it. I've considered having it replaced and have even taken video to show the verizon store but didn't want a beat up refurb that would probably have the same issue. I believe I have now fixed it. Mine would start flickering anywhere between 60 & 39% and never stay on below that. I recently read somewhere that the original charger was suspect. I recently upgraded my phone to a Note 5 which came with a fast charger. So for giggles I ran the Note Pro battery all the way to 0. I basically let it flicker and reboot over night. the next morning the system would not power on. I then charged it with my new charger to 100%. It has not flickered / rebooted once since then. Now going on 3 weeks. I have tested several times running off charger and watching videos down to 8%. It is now the tablet that I always wished it to be. I have also used other chargers besides the Note 5 charger and still have seen no issues. I have also successfully tested without the developer GPU options enabled.

 

[Nikon5400]

I had this problem since day one and was planning on sending it in for repair right around this time. But now the problem is gone!
Two things have changed -
1. I don't use case any longer (had samsung case with stand)
2. I updated to 5.1.1

When I had this problem the area around the camera was getting hot and the battery thermometer was showing higher temperatures (I believe around 120). Easiest way to re-create the issue was to wait until the battery percentage drops below 20% and and then run speedtest a few times. Within the last few days I ran speed test dozens of times with battery under 20% (now it's 3%) and it doesn't flicker.

I don't know if case contributed to the issue or not, but I also had this issue with case removed (removed right after seeing this issue. I don't remember if I had tested it with case removed for a whlie).
Now the area around the camera only slightly warmer than the rest of the tablet. I wouldn't even notice it if I didn't compare.


Can anyone else confirm this issue going away on it's own? (with lollipop or case removed)

 

[Beut]

Can anyone else confirm this issue going away on it's own? (with lollipop or case removed)

I don't use case but Kitkat or Lollipop are not relevant to flickering problem as this is a hardware flaw , battery connector is prone to crack.
I have one, flickering in Kitkat, upgrade to Lollipop, the same flickering at low battery around 30%. Another one with worse cracked battery connector, it flickers even at 80% battery. Both of them run the latest Lollipop, flickering only stops after battery connectors are re soldered.
I bought 2 of them from Ebay, $200 each with flickering problem and the seller thinks they have defective LCD. It took me only under 10 minutes to fix both of them as I know exactly where this problem comes from.

 

[Nikon5400]

I don't use case but Kitkat or Lollipop are not relevant to flickering problem as this is a hardware flaw , battery connector is prone to crack.
I have one, flickering in Kitkat, upgrade to Lollipop, the same flickering at low battery around 30%. Another one with worse cracked battery connector, it flickers even at 80% battery. Both of them run the latest Lollipop, flickering only stops after battery connectors are re soldered.
I bought 2 of them from Ebay, $200 each with flickering problem and the seller thinks they have defective LCD. It took me only under 10 minutes to fix both of them as I know exactly where this problem comes from.

Can you tell me how you re-create this issue? It was ALWAYS present on mine when battery was low and apps like youtube or speedtest were running. Now when the warranty is about to expire I can't re-create the issue. I'd rather have this issue fixed under warranty then have it come back a day after warranty expires.

If this is a cracked connector issue, wouldn't I still have this issue?
Do you know if the cracked connector issue contributed to the heat issue? My tablet was hot to touch near the camera and the battery temperature was over 105 (while other one was always under 100 when running the same tests) Now it gets barely warm. I'll install the battery temp app again and check the temperature.

One thing I didn't mention - the tablet after being used (and abused) by kids is making cracking sounds if you try to bend it a little (I have another one to compare). Could the side effect of the abuse be the reason I don't see this issue any longer?

I read somewhere removing the battery for a few seconds fixed the issue for some, but then the issue came back for others.
Someone else mentioned the issue had to do with the charger's usb3 cable connector and not the tablet itself and switching to miniusb fixed the issue.
I have 2 usb3 chargers, so I could have been using another one lately. I'll switch the chargers next time to see if the issue comes back.
Also, I figured if removing the battery has fixed the issue for some, maybe new OS fixes it for me.



I have not used this tablet for a few months, I can't be 100% certain the issue went away with 5.1.1, but I updated to 5.1.1 about a week or two ago and was trying hard to re-create but couldn't. My warranty is about to expire and I waited this long hopping samsung may just replace it (and hopefully with the newer model) instead of fixing it, but there's no newer model and if I can't re-create the issue samsung tech won't be able to either and even if they replace parts I won't be able to verify that they did.

Could you provide a link to pictures or video with cracked connector issue? If this is something easy to fix, maybe I'll forget about the warranty and just fix it if the issue shows up again.

Thanks

 

[Beut]

Cracked battery connector is widespread problem of this tablet and its similar tablet 12.2 Tab Pro.
Cracked battery connector cannot see with your eyes, these cracked hairlines can be seen easily under microscope. I can test it by pushing left or right or lift up, but doing this when it's ready to be re soldered. Common problems of loose or cracked battery connector: flickering, overheating, burning smell, quick discharge, auto reboot, auto shutdown, hang at boot, battery's capacity fluctuation, not turning on...etc..
This problem can be seen easily when battery is low, depending how bad of the crack, one can be seen at 30% but other flickers regardless battery level, even at full charge.
I actually bought 3 of Galaxy Note Pro on Ebay with the same problem of flickering and the fix is simple: re solder battery connector. The three Tab Pros I bought, all look like new but they have the same problem.

---------- Post added at 09:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 PM ----------

Can you tell me how you re-create this issue? It was ALWAYS present on mine when battery was low and apps like youtube or speedtest were running. Now when the warranty is about to expire I can't re-create the issue. I'd rather have this issue fixed under warranty then have it come back a day after warranty expires.

If you don't want to mess up with your tablet, send it to repair under Warranty, and you should emphasize on the battery connector issue and address in your complaint: overheating, quick discharge, flickering.
I believe Samsung aware of this issue and what they will do to fix this problem:
1- Re solder the battery connector.
2- Solder the white battery connector directly to the black battery connector. I think this one is not necessary as they can do this way:

This connector has obvious cracks at two center pins, others pins the crack may be under. The crack is not severe so this tablet only flickers at around 30% battery or lower.

 

[Nikon5400]

yes but mine stopped flickering completely.
I wonder if kids tried to bend it too much and that somehow made the connector issue disappear

 

[Beut]

yes but mine stopped flickering completely.
I wonder if kids tried to bend it too much and that somehow made the connector issue disappear

You can test it by running at low battery around 20% to 30%. I have one that I run fine from 100% until 29%, then it begins to flicker.
Believe me or not, Lollipop cannot do the magic of fixing hardware problem and the thread of flickering is the most read in here, over 30,000. In Android Central Forum, it has more than 100,000 views as of today. These numbers can tell you why this problem is so popular in this tablet.

 

[aartvv]

Just received my notepro back from the repair center!They replaced the battery and the connector and the flickering is gone!!!I was afraid i would have to pay because the tablet was rooted, but nothing they repaired it anyway!

 

[Nikon5400]

You can test it by running at low battery around 20% to 30%. I have one that I run fine from 100% until 29%, then it begins to flicker.
Believe me or not, Lollipop cannot do the magic of fixing hardware problem and the thread of flickering is the most read in here, over 30,000. In Android Central Forum, it has more than 100,000 views as of today. These numbers can tell you why this problem is so popular in this tablet.

I've known about this problem and reported it almost a year ago. The easiest way to recreate the problem was to run youtube or speed test when the battery level is under 20%. But I can no longer recreate this issue using these two apps.

The tablet used to get hot but now it stays cool.

What other application can I run to force this issue to show up?

I want to be able to recreate this issue so I can fix it under warranty and be able to verify the issue has been fixed.

I understand this is more of a hardware issue but I thought maybe Google fine-tuned some library or something and now applications consume less resources and not stressing the hardware as much.

please let me know which applications use more resources, make tablet run hotter, etc.

P.S. The tablets I have are Tab Pro12.2. I've had about five of them, one white the rest are black. Only the white one has (had) this issue.

 

[Beut]

Just use normal application like youtube or playing a movie while bluetooth, wireless are on, brightness is at maximum. Flickering usually start at low battery level, depending on each tablet, one can start problem at 80, others may start at below 30% battery. The only way you can test is running until the battery runs out to know when flickering will start.
You are under warranty, just use it as it happened before. I don't think they have time to test until see the flickering. Like mine, the one I bought with flickering, I had to run it for 5 hours until seeing the flickering screen at 28% battery.
By the way, it's covered by warranty, just send it for repair as you have nothing to lose. When it's out of warranty, you have to pay for any repair.

---------- Post added at 04:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:12 PM ----------

Just received my notepro back from the repair center!They replaced the battery and the connector and the flickering is gone!!!I was afraid i would have to pay because the tablet was rooted, but nothing they repaired it anyway!

You're lucky when your tablet was repaired by a lazy tech who did not check or didn't bother if your tablet is rooted.
If the tech reported it's rooted, your tablet will put on hold, warranty status will change to out of warranty, and Samsung CSR will contact you for out of warranty fees.
That's why lazy techs don't bother if your tablet is working fine, passed tests.

 

[Nikon5400]

You guys were correct and I was wrong. The problem did NOT go away on its own (with 5.1.1). It got better but didn't go away completely.

I can re-create this issue with speedtest, battery < 20% AND BRIGHTNESS AT 100%. . I never touched brightness setting before, so I'm pretty sure 5.1.1 or something made it better, because the issue isn't there with normal brightness level and the tablet doesn't get as hot, but the issue did not go away.

Thanks for convincing me this is a hardware issue and it couldn't go away on its own

 

[mikey5]

Just wanted to post to say that the plastic shim is working for me. I have had flickering issues really badly. Literally any time my power drops below 80%, the flickering begins, and it becomes unbearable by the time I reach the 50% - 60% mark. So, basically, I have to work with my tablet plugged in nearly all of the time. Also, certain activities set off the flickering more than others. The flickering is especially bad when I multitask with S Note on half the screen and a PDF file on the other half (which I have to do quite often).

Last week I pulled off the back cover and re-seated the cables around the battery. That didn't do anything for me. The flickering was the same as before.

Earlier today I tried the plastic shim trick and so far, it's working flawlessly! I'm shocked. I'm at 45% and am multitasking with four apps -- three large PDF files + S Note -- and I have not seen a single flicker. I use this device heavily every single day and know exactly when the flickering will begin and what will trigger it. This is definitely a big change.

The video from upthread is no longer working, so I had to make some guesses and assumptions about how the shim trick would work. Here's what I did.

1. I powered down the tablet.

2. I removed back cover.

3. I placed the tablet with glass down in a landscape orientation. The slot for the S Pen was on the left. The long edge closest to the batteries was closest to me.

4. I got the plastic from an old CD jewel case with a clear plastic cover. I broke the plastic cover into pieces and took two of them -- a larger piece and a smaller piece -- for this project. The smaller piece is the piece of plastic that I permanently put under the motherboard. The smaller piece was completely flat and had about the same dimensions as the fingernail on my first/pointer finger. The larger piece of plastic is something I used as a lever temporarily to prop up the motherboard while I inserted the smaller piece. The dimensions of the larger piece are not very important -- I just needed something that was longer than it was wide that I could use as a lever to prop up the motherboard.

5. The bottom left corner of the motherboard was exposed. I inserted the shorter edge of the larger piece of plastic under that corner of the motherboard. I pushed down on the other shorter edge of that larger piece of plastic in a lever motion, so as to lift the motherboard very slightly. With the motherboard corner held up by the larger piece of plastic, I slipped the smaller piece under the motherboard. This was not easy, as the motherboard was fairly secure, and there was not much room to work with. But I got the little piece of plastic under the board. Then I removed the larger piece of plastic (the lever) and threw it away.

6. I reattached the back cover and rebooted.

So far, so good. I'll report back if I experience any problems.

I see above that soldering may also fix the problem and may be a more direct way of fixing the problem. I wanted to try this before trying the soldering idea. I may try soldering if the flickering comes back.

Edit: Three days later, and still not a single flicker.

 

[bluebirch]

Three times at Samsung service. Third time they resoldered the battery connector. Or so they claim. Tablet still flickers, although not as much as before. *sigh*

Skickat från min SM-P900 via Tapatalk

 

[Beut]

Three times at Samsung service. Third time they resoldered the battery connector. Or so they claim. Tablet still flickers, although not as much as before. *sigh*

Skickat från min SM-P900 via Tapatalk

The white battery connector also is the source of flickering, I had one that flickering at 70% battery. The fix is so simple but you might need magnified glass to see the connector end: pushing the opening closer, they will make good contact. They re solder the black connector without fixing white battery connector will not fix the flickering problem.
Samsung service centers in US solve this problem by soldering the white connector directly to the black battery connector, but you don't need to do this, they solve the problem but customers will face difficulties when changing battery.